A Population History of Colonial New South Wales

Book excerpt: In this 10th volume of the economic history of colonial NSW, the matter of population growth is reviewed, with population gains coming from favorable economic drivers and economic cycles, exploration, immigration, natural increase and British investment. The historical approach to Statistical Data gathering, its origins and reliability, is outlined as are the statistics used and their interpretation. The early musters (of convicts) is discussed together with commentary on the supporting datas derived from the numbers of convicts 'on the store'. With the Aboriginal economy outperforming the white colony from 1788 to the early 1820s, the operation of the Aboriginal economy is also discussed and the circumstances of its depopulation. Adding to the population history is a statement that traditional reporting of the history is: *Britain settled the continent for ;'strategic' advantages and to find a source of raw materials for its industries, as well as being an outlet for its trading and a takeover of local resources under its expanding economic system. *Economic development took place in their new colony, beneficial mainly to British interests including, industry, trade, insurance and investment. As important as trade and investment became to the new colony, the main aspect of the population history is the transfer of human capital in the form of over 160,000 convicted persons under a transportation program from the United Kingdom.